Well-drilling machine.



B. RAND.

WELL DRLLNG MACHINE. APPLIOATION FILED 001.28, 1912.

Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

N TOR.

11V/ TNES'HS Specication of Letter: Iatlrft.

Appleman mea ottoter 2s,"`1912. seriai no. 128,163.

To all inkom t may concern Be it known that I, En RAND, a c1t1zen of` the United States, residingat Charleston, A the county-of Kanawha vand State of West Virginiap have invented certain new and chir-les; :andI do hereby declare the follow# ing to be a full, clear, and exact descrlptlon of the invention, such as will enable `others skilled in the art to which itappertams to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a rotary, electrically driven drilling apparatus, in whichv the various, parts are so related and arranged as to reduce a sim I e, eliiclent mee anism for lving prospect holes, oil, gas and artesian wells andthe like, as will be more particularly described hereinafter, reference being had' tothe accompanying drawings, in whlch Flgure 1 is an elevation showing the general View of the drilling-apparatus; Fig. 2 is a sectional View through the jars.; Fig. 3 is a. sectional view taken Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertlcal section through the motor, core-barrel, cutters, sludge receiver, etc.; Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the drill; Fig. 6 isa section talgen on the line 6-,6 ofFig. 4; Fig. 7 is a section.. taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 4; Fig. 8 is a sectiontaken on the line 8-8of Fig. 7;I Fig. 9. is an elevation of the circulatlng pump; Fig. 10 is a modification o f the c1r culatingpump shown in Fig. 9; F 11l 1s a section taken on the line 11 -11 of 10.

Throughout these' views, like reference .characters refer to corresponding arts.

Referring to the drawing, it wi be noted that the a paratus includes in serial order` a jar, a cy indrical casing forming a :sludge bucket or receiver anda motor c amber, a core-barrel connected tothe shaft of an elec! tric motor in the-motor chamber and a cut'- ter head on the end of the core-barrel.

-he casing which forms the sludge receiver and the motor chamber is shown in Fig, 4 and is designatedzby the numeral 25. At a .suitable distance from-the top of the casing 25 isy secured a cylindrical bearing block19 in which 'one lend of the motor shaft 16 is journaled. A bearing sleeve 19" is provided between saidbarmg block and the journal of the shaftg, nhe other ,end of the shaft l16 is journaled bearingcbloclt 21 secured in the' lowerend'f thecasingad compact and shaft.

on the line 3 3 of lsh operation, however,

.16'. A bearing sleeve 20 tween the block and the l sta-tor coils 24 which 'coperate with the rocasing 25 and are,4

lbarrel is vprovided cutting the material and core lifters 23,' for bearing `sleeve 21. which lower end of the shaft is journaled. buttlng the bearing sleeves 19 and y21 are provided with a t e 1 hubs or shoulders 18 carried by theshaft 16- which serve as thrust bearings, as will hereuseful Improvements in Well-Drilling .Ma- I inafterappear, and also lvas, means for remotor employed. The rotors or motors are preferably carsuitable manner such as follows. The

e in two parts .and` finally connected by the sleeve 16. Prior to th' the rotors 17 preferabl);

he squirreLcage type, are forced on the shaft sections into engagement with the hubs or shoulders 18. When the sections r-are assembled the rotors are held rigid between the hubs 18 and the connecting sleeve 16.

A third bearing block 20 is secured in the casing and preferably positioned so that the ak t is journaled therein at the point Where its two sections are'connected by the'sleeve is interposed be; sleeve 16. The

tors are mounted inthe held in their proper` ositions "by spacing rings ,26 interposed etween the bearing blocks and the stator coils. Secured tothe lower end of theshaft 16 is a core-barrel 11 i preferably, connected to the shaft by means of the block 22. The lower end of the corewith the cutters 13, for breaking and lifting the core. Jar mechaiism is provided in Fig. 2, and shown assembled with the complete construction lin Fig. 1.' In the form showh in the cipocable member 3 adapted to slide on the section 7. Lol'igitudinal` slots or guideways 4 are provided inthe member 3, in which a projection or pin 5 carried by the section? 1s adapted to engage.

raised, thereby caus-y ing the desired hammer blow. The lower section 7 y,of the jar mechanism is secured to the to bearing block 19. vTo accomplish this, the ower endofthesection 7 is thread? ed andisadapted toengage a threadedpor` tion l:the bearingblockl). Afclarp nutl HQ Patented Nov. 1 1, 19:13.

drawing, iit consists of .a rez-1 gtainingmotor armatures17 in place on the preferably used is of the i induction type, but obviously motors of y. other `kinds can be armatures ot the ried directly by the shaft and are positioned 1n any `shaft 16 1s mad which `isV shown in section The abutment 5 at the extremity ofthe slots 4engagesthe pin 5 when the member 3 is 43 ispreferably provided to screw down on the bearing block 19 to lock the section 7 to the bearing block. The .member 3 of the jar mechanism is provided with a suitable yoke 1 to which a supporting cable can be secured. .A hole 2 in the to of the yoke serves Yfor the passage theret rough of the cable which can be fastened by means of any suitable clamp.

In order to hold the casing 25 and stator parts stationary when the apparat-us is in operation, spring members are secured to a suitable part of the casing and are so ar-` rangedthat they engage the walls of the well to grip the same and prevent a rotary movement of the casing. 'In the form shown, these spring members 41 are secured to the upper edge of the casing 25 and flare outwardly to such an extent that the walls of the well will be gripped by them to hold the casing stationary. The portions which engage the walls are curved as shown in the drawingI to allow for a longitudinal movement of the easing in both directions. It is obvious that many differeht forms of such 'spring retaining members could be used which embody stance elliptical springs could be used secured at both ends to the casing instead of having one end free as illustrated.` The numberof springs 41 will depend upon the character of the material forming the walls,

of the well. If it is soft and sticky; then it is desirable to increase -the number of springs to provide a greater bearing surface.

It is seen from the foregoing description that the hubs 18 on the shaft also serve as thrust bearings, the upper one to carry the weight of the stator parts or such` Part of the weight as may be desired to help feed the drill down; the lower one to stand any lifting strain that may be put on it such as the strain of breaking off the core and lifting it out of the ho e. The weight of the moving parts will approximate that necessary to produce a proper pressure onthe cutters-so that comparatively little pressure will be on the thrust bearings when the drill is in operation. If in soft material it may be necessary to relieve the cutters Vof a partof this weight through the lower thrust bearing. Thelpressure is regulatedV from the surface of the ground by varying the rate of lowering the drill.

A circulation of water to the cutting means is preferably provided for as follows. The jar mechanism has a central passage 9 which is provided at its upper end with screw threads ll() in which is screwed the extremity of a suitable hose or other water conducting means. The other end of the hose is secured to the supporting cable .so that it serves as a means for conducting clean and cool Water from a relatively high point in the well down to the drilling apsinall screw pro the same principle, for in,

parat-us. The shaft 16 in the preferred form is also provided with a central passage 9 as clearly shown in Fig. 4. Suitable'packing glands 38 are positioned next to the bearing vsleeves 19 and 21 to prevent the dirt and water from working into the bearings. `Means is preferably provided near the upper end of the shaft to force the water downwardly therethrough. This means may take the form of a spiral 14 arranged in the bore 9. of the shaft, which acts as a eller and forces the water down through te shaft into the core-barrel. A second and larger pump is preferably arranged in the core-barrel to receive the water coming from the shaft and to force it down between the core and corebarrel past the cutters and up around the outside ofthe ycasing to a higher point in the well where it mixes with the other water cooled olf, loses a part of its sediment by settlement and becomes a part of the circulating water again. The larger pump referred to may be of any form, but, preferably, it consists of a body portion 12 having spirally arrangedlolades 15, whichact as a propeller to force the water downward. A modification of the pum 12 is shown ir Figs. 10 and 11. It is o the centrifugal type and is provided with radial vanes 45 which act on the water after it has entered the space 46 to force it forward. The upper portion 42 of thev easing 25 forms a sludge receiver as clearly shown in Fig. 4. It serves to catch the cuttings which settle from the circulating water.

It is obvious that in dri the apparatus will be and subjected to enormous pressures, which mgst be equalized or else the circulating water would be forced in past the bearings into the motor chamber. Such pressures would also tend to collapse the casing. This problem is completely and satisfactorily solved by filling the motor chamber with a suitable fluid. Preferably, the fluid is a lubricant. Means are interposed between the fluid and the water on the outside such that the pressure on the outside will be per-- mitted to compress the fluid on the inside or excess of pressure on the inside will immediately be relieved by expansion toward the outside through the interposed medium. Means for so equalizing the pressures are shown in the drawings, but the principle can be carried out in numerous .modifications not illustrated.

vIn the drawings, the bearing blocks are all provided with longitudinal bores or openings, the block 19 having the bores 27 provided at their upper ends with suitable closures 28. Small interconnecting passages 29 serve to conduct anyyeseape of gases from one bore to the next and finally to the plug 30, which when removed, allows such gases lling deep wells,

submerged in water to escape. for filling suolil a constructionof ,the block, `the fluid is permitted to rise to the topr of the block through the longitudinal openings or bores. The middle bearing block is also provided withv longitudinal openings 3l through which the fluid is free to pass. The lower The plug also serves as means the casing with the fluid. `By

fluid is free to pass at their upper ends. By interposing diaphragms 39' in fthe openings 40, it is obvious that the external water under pressure has free access in the lower part of the `openings 40 and is allowed t-o contact with the said diaphragms. When the external pressure is in excess of the pressure of the fluid on the inside of the casing, the pressure acting through the diaphragms will tend to compress the internal fluid and thereby equalize the pressure. Another form of equalizing means is shown in Fig. 8. In this form the openings 32 are closed at their lower ends and the remainingopenings 33 `are open tothe outside water. A sliding piston 34 is adapted to slide in the openings `33 so that excessive external pressures will' move the pistons upwardly and compress the internalfluid and-vice-versa. To facilitate the movement of the pistons, counterweights 35 are preferably provided which are freely movable in the openings 32. Connecting cords 36 run over a suitable hanger 37 at the top of the bearing block as clearly shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

It is to be understood that. the pressuresl fluid and external liq between the internal uids can be equalized by any suitable means,

` the two described being merely examples.

It is not necessary to locate the equalizing means `as shown in the drawings. Any suitable location may be used where a free connection between the two fluids can be obtained.

When alubricant is used as the internal fluid, it serves the purpose of also lubricating the bearings and rotary parts, thereby dispensing with additional meansA for accomplishing this purpose.

Numerous advantages follow from the use of an induction motor in the above relation. As no brushes orcommutators are required, no friction results from contacting parts to produce heat. The parts can be conveniently positioned in the casing and notwithstanding the small space allowed for the motor, it furnishes suflieient power to produce a high efliciency.

The conductors to supply the current to the motor or motors, as the case may be, preferably form the core of the supporting cable being thereby satisfactorily protected. They are run-through a suitable opening 46 provided in one of the closures purpose, and then connected to the stator coils of the motor.

the like, the table shaft mounted therein, cutting means fluid in said easing, tm

28 for the i The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The drill is connected to a hoisting drum by means of a cable passing over a sheave wheel at the top of a derrick frame or tripod. The core of the hoisting .cable being the electrical conductors is connected to a source of power through a switch, amimeter and any other electrical devices which may be necessary. The drill ends of the conductors are suitably connected to the motor windings. The drill is then suspended by the cable and the upper or stator part held by suitable means to prevent turning. Water connection is made to the drill which may be from any temporary source of sup! ply. Current is furnished to the motor and the core-barrel revolves causing the teeth to cut as the drill is lowered. When a depth has been reached corresponding to the length of the core-barrel, the drill is hoisted and the core removed. The drill is again lowered and operated until another core has been cut to sutlicient length when it is again hoisted and the core removed, this process being repeated to any desired depth.

When 'drilling through material which is difficult to cut, the ammeter will register an increased flow of current, and the rate of feeding the drill downwardly may, therefore, be decreased. If soft material is being cut, however, the rate of feedingythe drill downwardly can be increased to get the maximum work out of the drill. By watching the ammeter and varying the rate of feeding the drill downwardly, the work gotten out ofthe machine can be kept constant.

lVhen the drill has completely entered the ground, it will be no longer necessary to hold it to prevent turning as the springs will automatically grip the well walls and prevent rotation of the casing.

It will be necessary to "keep-asupply of water in the well for circulation through the drill but after areasonable depth has been reached, Water will be encountered and the circulation pumps of the drill will take care of all circulating water.

What I claim is 1. In an apparatus for drilling wells and combination of a casing, a rotasecured to said-shaft, an electric motor in said casing to rotate said shaft, a'body of and means for transmitthe pressure external to said casing to sai 'body of fluid.

2. In an apparatus for drillingwells and the like, the combination of a casing, a rotatable shaft mounted therein, cutting means secured to said shaft, an induction motor in said casing to rotate said shaft, said motor comprising a stator secured to said casing and a rotor secured to said shaft, means in said casing t-o retain a body of fluid having l the casi-ng to equalize the external pressure means for transmitting the vpressure external to said casing to said body of fluid. v

' to rotate said shaft, means to retain a body 'said shaft, jar mechanism associated with shaft having longitudinally alined assages retain a body of fluid which surroundssaid free eneanueavaround sais motor, ana

' 3l In an apparatusfor drilling wells and,

the like, the'combination of a casmg, a 'rotatable shaft mounted' therein, cutting means secured to said shaft,','a 1 notor in said casing of fluid in said casing, and yielding pres-y sureetransmittingixrreals in connection with and the pressure of said ftuid. 4;. Inan apparatus'for drilling wells and the like, the combination of a casing, a rotatablev shaft mounted therein, cutting means secure-d to said shaft, a motor in said casing to rotate said shaft, means to retain a body of fluid 'in-said casing, and-means to equalis@ the external pressureand. the pressure of said iiuid. s

5. In an apparatus for drilling wells and the like, the combination of 'a casing, a ro`ta= table shaft journaled therein, cutting means secured thereto, a central assage in said shaft to conduct circulatin uid yto said cut'- ting means, means actuate by said shaft to establish the flow of liquid through said shaft and to the cutting means,- and a motor in said casing to rotate said shaft.

6. In an apparatus for drilling wells and the like, the' combination of a casing, a rotatableshaft journaled therein, cutting means secured thereto, a central' passage in said shaft to conduct circulating liquid to saidcutting means, jar mechanlsm secured to said casing and provided with a central passage running longitudinally of said jar mechanism and in communication with the passage in said shaft, lmeans actuated by said shaft to establish a flow of liquid through said jarring mechanism and said shaft, and a motor in said casing to rotate said shaft. l

7 In an apparatus for'drilling wells and the like, the combination of a casing, a rotatable'shaft mounted therein, stator elements secured to the casing, rotor 'elements carried by said shaft, cutting means operated by the casing, said fjar mechanism land said for conducting a circulating liqui tothe cutting means," means for Jcausing the liow of liquid through said passages, means to motor parts, and means to equalize the pres# sure between said fluid and said 'circulating liquid.

'8. An apparatus for drilling wells and the like, comprising a, casing, cutter operating mechanism located in the lower part theresludge receiver, 'and sgr-ing membersseeured to the' upper end of t ,c easing and adapted to engage the walls of the well to prevent said casing from rotatin 9.-An apparatus for rilling wells and the like, comprising a casing, bearin blocks associated with said casing a rotata lecutter shaft journaled -insaid bearing blocks and jar mechanism connected with one o said bearing blocks. t

10..An apparatus forv drilling wells and the like, comprising a casing, a bearing block situated intermediate the ends of said casing, ai Asecond bearing block associated with said casing, a rotatable cutter shaft journaled in said bearing blocks, the upper "art of said casing above the first-named lock serving as a sludge r `eceiver,.and` jar mechanism extending into said casing and cmmected to said rst-named bearing block.

1l. An apparatus for drilling wells and the like, comprising a casing, bearin blocks `associated with' said casing, a rotata le cuttershaft journal'ed in said bearing blocks,

to abutsai bearing blocks to'prevent longi- `the casing, and jar mechanism connected to one of said bearing blocks.

l2. An apparatus for drilling 'wellsand the like, comprising a casing, a rotatable eutte'r shaft `journaled therein, cutting mechanism associated with said' shaft, and jar said shaft and jar mechanism'having longitudinal passages throug'hwhich liquid may be sup lied to the cuttingmechanism.

13. apparatus for drilling wells and the like, comprising 'a casing, bearing blocks positioned in said casing, a rotatable cutter shaft journaled in said bearing-blocks, and pressure transmitti means associated with one of said bearing locks.

14, An apparatusfor drilling wells Iand .the like, comprising afcasing, bearing blocks positioned in sa'd casing, said bearing blocks provided with ongitu inal 'openings therein, said openings-provided withclosures to retain a body of liiuid in said casing, a rotatable cutter -shaft journaled in said bearing blocks, and means interposed in the longitudinal openings of one of said bearin blocks to equalize the pressure of said ilui in the -casing'and the pressures external to the casing.` t

In testimony whereof I aix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ED RAND.

Witnesses B. R. Wingman,

of, the upper part adapted to serve as a RUTH MELMAN.

tudinal movement of said shaft relative toI mechanismA associated with said apparatus,

said shaft ovided with shoulders adapted 

